Live
- Over 7,600 Syrians return from Turkiye in five days after Assad's downfall: minister
- Delhi BJP leaders stay overnight in 1,194 slum clusters
- Keerthy Suresh and Anthony Thattil Tie the Knot in a Christian Ceremony
- AAP, BJP making false promises to slum dwellers for votes: Delhi Congress
- 'Vere Level Office' Review: A Refreshing Take on Corporate Life with Humor and Heart
- Libya's oil company declares force majeure at key refinery following clashes
- Illegal Rohingyas: BJP seeks Assembly session to implement NRC in Delhi
- Philippines orders full evacuation amid possible volcanic re-eruption
- Government Prioritizes Welfare of the Poor, says Dola Sri Bala Veeranjaneyaswamy
- Two Russian oil tankers with 29 on board damaged due to bad weather
Stage set for Cabinet rejig today
Representation likely from states going for Assembly elections Focus on 2014 polls New Delhi : President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday accepted...
- Representation likely from states going for Assembly elections
- Focus on 2014 polls
New Delhi : President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday accepted the resignations of Union Railway Minister C P Joshi and Housing & Urban Poverty-Alleviation Minister Ajay Maken, as the stage is set for Cabinet reshuffle expected as early as on Monday. Both Joshi and Maken have been appointed AICC General Secretaries in the AICC revamp announced ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle. This may well be the last Cabinet reshuffle before the General Election in 2014.
Since Odisha is an election-going State, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Jena, who was standing in for his former Cabinet Minister M K Alagiri of DMK because he did not know English and has since resigned, may be elevated to the Cabinet rank. Srikant Jena was holding Cabinet rank as Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the United Front Government from 1996-1998.
But he was denied the Cabinet rank as he was considered a junior in the Congress. Now, he may get back his due. Representation is likely to be given in the Council of Ministers from the election-going States of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, besides Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress is struggling to retain its hold, having won 21 MPs in the 2009 general election. Probable names are those of Jyoti Mirdha from Rajasthan, Meenakshi Natarajan from Madhya Pradesh and Raj Babbar from Uttar Pradesh.
The Cabinet reshuffle is due anyway, after the DMK pullout from the government and later the resignations of Union Ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar. The vacancies have to be filled up, as the government gears up for the monsoon session of Parliament due in the third week of July. In fact, the government is also trying for a special session of Parliament earlier for passing the Food Security Bill. If the reshuffle is carried out now, then it leaves the new ministers with enough time to settle down in their new assignments, ahead of Parliament session.
C P Joshi, considered to be the blue-eyed boy of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, is a quintessential organisational man, which is why he was appointed as AICC General Secretary. In fact, as Rajasthan PCC President in 2008, Joshi is considered to have crafted the Congress victory in Rajasthan. He was widely tipped to become the Rajasthan Chief Minister, but he missed it by a whisker, as he lost his own Assembly election by one vote.
Joshi's services may again be sought in the Rajasthan Assembly elections slated for later this year. Ajay Maken, also appointed as AICC General Secretary, could be the choice for Delhi Chief Minister after the Delhi Assembly elections later this year, as incumbent Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit completes three terms in office, ever since her election for the first time in 1998.
